Google, Oxford University team up on artificial intelligence
Technology giant Google is teaming up with Oxford University to advance research on artificial intelligence to ultimately enable machines to better understand human users.
The partnership will focus specifically on the fields of image recognition and natural language, Demis Hassabis, vice president of engineering at Google, wrote on the Google Europe Blog.
Hassabis is also the co-founder of DeepMind, a UK-based company that Google acquired in January.

Kerala CM seeks Centre's help to bring back nurses
Kerala Government has asked the Centre to take urgent steps to secure the release of 18 Malayalee nurses stranded in Libya and also five Indian fishermen, including one from Kerala, held captive in Iran.
In a letter to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, while seeking help for the release of the stranded persons, also handed over the name and passport details of Malayalee nurses stranded in Benghazi and other places in Libya.

220 fire-related incidents in Delhi on Diwali
Fire fighters in the national capital had a hectic time on Diwali as they received 220 calls related to minor fire incidents.
"220 fire-related incidents were reported on Diwali.
However, all incidents were minor. We had made elaborate arrangements to tackle such situations," an official of the fire department said today.
"No big casualty was reported. Our men were working all night," the official added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauds ITBP on raising day
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today paid tributes to ITBP personnel on the raising day of the force and saluted them for their bravery.
"On the raising day of ITBP, I salute our brave ITBP personnel. We are proud of their valour, determination and service to the nation," the Prime Minister said.

PM announces Rs 745-crore package for flood-hit J&K
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today announced a Rs 745-crore package for renovation of houses and six major hospitals damaged by the recent unprecedented floods in Jammu and Kashmir.
He said while Rs 570 crore would be provided by the Centre for renovation of houses, Rs 175 crore will be given for start of immediate renovation work of six major hospitals across the state.

MGNREG Scheme improved status of women
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme had helped women improve their social and economic status, according to a study by a university here.
The study by the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) showed that 97.3 per cent of workers under the scheme are women.
Conducted as part of a project on Impact Assessment Study of MGNREG scheme in Alappuzha District, the study was funded by Kerala State Institute of Rural Development.

Pak Hindus celebrates Diwali
Pakistan's Hindu community today celebrated Diwali with religious zeal and fervour.
Earthen lamps were lit at houses, special prayers held at temples, sweets distributed and fireworks also exhibited.
Balmiki Hindus in Bahawalpur and Bheel and Mangwal Hindu communities in different villages of the great desert of Cholistan also celebrated the festival with gaiety.
President Mamnoon Hussain said the government is committed to make every possible effort for uplift and welfare...

Pak opposes alleged Ind bunker construction near IB
Pakistan today objected to alleged construction of bunkers by Indian troops close to the International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir in violation of a 2010 agreement.
Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said that under a 2010 agreement, both the countries cannot build such structures within 500 meter of the either side of IB between Indian Kashmir and Pakistan's Sialkot district.

India celebrates Diwali with traditional fervour
Diwali, the festival of lights, was celebrated with traditional fervour across the country with people exchanging sweets and gifts with friends and relatives, decking up their houses with earthen diyas and tiny lights and illuminating the evening sky with fireworks.
Children and youths burst crackers and lit sparklers while families, dressed up in their best outfits, visited their neighbours, exchanged 'Happy Diwali' greetings and sweets.

CPC promises Hong Kong's autonomy
China's ruling Communist Party today vowed autonomy for Hong Kong where pro-democracy protesters have locked horns with the city administration for over a month on the election of next Chief Executive and stop interfering in the judicial process to make it more independent.

PM asks officers to consider J-K govt plea for package
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today directed the officers concerned of the central government to examine quickly with due sensitivity the memorandum by the Jammu and Kashmir government for a special financial package for the flood victims in the state.

India grounds Sukhoi-30 fleet; safety checks on
India has grounded its entire Sukhoi-30 fleet and each aircraft is undergoing a thorough technical check following a recent crash near Pune.
The fleet of about 200 twin-engine Su-30s would be back in air only when they are cleared by the technical review.
"The fleet has been grounded and is undergoing technical checks following the latest accident in Pune.

Sensex extends gains, up 212 pts in early trade
The benchmark BSE Sensex today rose over 212 points in early trade on the last trading session of the Samvat Year 2070, extending gains for the fourth straight day on increased capital inflows amid the government announcing a slew of economic reforms.
Further, a firming trend in global markets also buoyed trading sentiments.
The 30-share index surged by 212.76 points, or 0.80 per cent, to 26,788.

Poll code case: Court to decide plea seeking probe documents
The Ahmedabad rural court is likely to decide the plea of an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) worker on November 14, seeking probe documents on the basis of which the city crime branch had given a "clean chit" to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an alleged poll code violation case.

Williamson to miss rest of NZ-South Africa series
Batsman Kane Williamson will miss the two remaining matches in New Zealand's limited-overs series against South Africa due to a wrist injury.
Williamson skipped the opening six-wicket loss to South Africa at Mount Maunganui on Tuesday and has subsequently been ruled out of second match at the same venue Friday and the third at Hamilton on Monday.

Supreme Court grants bail to Jayalalithaa, asks her not delay appeal
In a major relief to jailed AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa, the Supreme Court today granted her bail in a disproportionate assets case in which she was sentenced to four-year jail term.
A bench headed by Chief Justice H L Dattu stayed the sentence and warned Jayalalithaa against causing any delay by seeking adjournment in her appeal in Karnataka High Court.The bench directed Jayalalithaa to file paperbook of her appeal in the high court within two months.

Committed to eradicating all forms of child labour: India
India underscored its strong commitment to eradicating all forms of child labour and making secondary education more accessible to girls, as UN diplomats saluted Nobel Peace Prize winners Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai for their tireless efforts to defend rights of children.

70 crude bombs found in Malda
Seventy crude bombs have been recovered from near a bamboo grove at 16 Mile area in Malda district of West Bengal.
Villagers informed the Kaliachak Police Station about the crude bombs this morning, police said.
Police personnel inspected the spot and called in the bomb squad.

Bail for Jaya: AIADMK activists break out into celebrations
AIADMK supporters broke out into celebrations, bursting crackers and dancing on the roads here after the Supreme Court granted bail to party chief Jayalalithaa in the illegal assets case, paving way for her homecoming for the Diwali festival.

Maha polls: 51.19 pc Mumbai voters cast their ballot
A total of 51.19 per cent of the electorate cast their votes in Mumbai during the Assembly polls on Wednesday, as against 45 per cent in 2009, as per the final turnout figures released by the Election Commission.
Mumbai has crossed the 50 per cent mark in voter turnout this year, after the 1995 Assembly polls.
The final state tally stood at 63.13 per cent, as against 59.5 in the 2009 Assembly polls and 60.

Two killed, seven injured in firing
Two persons were killed and seven others injured when unidentified assailants fired upon them at a village in the district, a police officer said today.
The victims have been identified as Pradeep Kumar Yadav (22) and Niraj Kumar Yadav (14), police said.

No one can warn India: Rajnath
With China reacting sharply to government's plans to construct a border road in Arunachal Pradesh, Home Minister Rajnath Singh today sent a strong message, asserting that no one can warn India.
"Today, no one can give warning to India. We are a very powerful country," he told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.

Odisha seeks financial assistance from Centre
Odisha Government today sought Rs 500 crore as interim assistance from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) for relief and restoration of damaged infrastructure in cyclone Hudhud.
The demand was made in a letter written by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Prez makes strong pitch for India as investment dest
Making a strong pitch for bringing investments, President Pranab Mukherjee today said India is fourth most attractive destination for Foreign Direct Investment for 2014-16 owing to easing of restrictions, growth and investor friendly atmosphere promoted by the government.

Hudhud : Radio helped reach remote areas of Odisha
Radio played a major role in creating awareness about cyclone Hudhud in the hilly and remote tracts of Odisha's Koraput district where people don't read newspapers or have access to television sets, thus reducing the number of casualties.
"Neither do we read newspapers nor do we have television sets to watch. It is because of the radio that we could know about cyclone Hudhud and its expected impact.

Rajan given Best Central Bank Governor award by Euromoney
Reserve Bank governor Raghuram Rajan has been conferred with the Best Central Bank Governor award for 2014 by Euromoney magazine.
Euromoney said Raghuram Rajan?s tough monetary medicine combatted the storm ravaging the deficit-ridden economy in the recent emerging market crisis.
"Now, he is battling vested interests to arouse a sleepy financial system for over one billion people...

Don't make any move to complicate situation at border: China
China today sharply reacted to India's plans to construct a road network along the McMohan line in Arunachal Pradesh and expressed hope that India will not take any action which may complicate the situation before a final settlement is reached to end the boundary dispute.
"We still need to verify the specifics. The boundary issue between China and India is left by colonial past.

Coalscam: Court directs CBI to further probe the matter
A special court today ordered further investigation in a coal blocks allocation scam case, involving Vikash Metals and Power Ltd and its officials, in which the CBI had filed a closure report.
The court also directed the CBI to file a further progress report of the probe and fixed the case for November 10.
"Vide separate order the matter has been referred to CBI for further investigation under the provisions of the CrPC.